It’s Time to End Violence Against Women

Date Posted: June 10, 2015

“How many of you have experienced violence?”

We waited as the room full of well-educated, well-to-do teenagers looked down and shuffled their feet. They had traveled from their school to the U.S. Embassy in Trinidad to take part in a focus group and workshop about gender based violence.

Our partner, Population Services International (PSI), a global health organization, has been working in the Caribbean for 10 years. During that time, it has launched a successful campaign to raise awareness and help prevent the spread of HIV.

Just a day earlier, we visited an HIV youth outreach program at the local YMCA in Port-of-Spain, where we met a dynamic woman named Kimberly. Kimberly spoke about how she’s loved being a peer educator for the past five years and how her friend had recommended she become involved with PSI.